


houses in your heart

by vaughnicus



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Everybody Lives, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Multi, Poly Losers - Freeform, Poly Losers Club Fic Exchange, Total Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:22:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28142316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vaughnicus/pseuds/vaughnicus
Summary: Written for the Poly Loser's Club Secret Santa 2020.Richie wants to buy a house for all the losers to live in... what could go wrong?
Relationships: Bill Denbrough/Mike Hanlon/Ben Hanscom/Eddie Kaspbrak/Beverly Marsh/Richie Tozier/Stanley Uris
Comments: 2
Kudos: 30
Collections: Poly Losers Club Fic Exchange Vol.3





	houses in your heart

**Author's Note:**

> For @umbrella-babies on tumblr, my lovely giftee. <3 I hope I did your beautiful prompt justice. 
> 
> Here is the prompt:  
> A college AU wherein the Losers agree to date each other for the sake of pooling resources, but then it becomes more. They could all live in the same dorm or however you'd like them all to know each other. You can choose which pairing/characters you'd like to focus on the most, but the fluffier the better.
> 
> It's not ~exactly~ that, so I really really really hope you like it! :D Happy Holidays!
> 
> (also, all of you, pls forgive me for the title, i couldn't help it ahaha)

“Are you actually insane? No, wait, don’t answer that.” Stan rubbed the space between his eyebrows with a long suffering sigh. “I  _ know  _ you’re insane, but I also know you aren’t stupid. So what on  _ earth  _ makes you think this is a good idea?” 

Richie crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of Stan’s tiny studio apartment.

“What makes you think it’s not?” 

“Seriously, Richie? Where do I begin?” Stan sat heavily on his couch, arms flapping up in exasperation. “First of all, lease-to-own? That’s  _ never  _ a good deal for the buyer. And a house? Why not an apartment? We’re in college for fuck’s sake. And a house that needs  _ fixing? _ Come on, Richie. I know you get obstinate when you want something but this  _ isn’t smart. _ ”

Richie ran a hand through his hair, blew out a breath, and walked carefully over to sit next to Stan. He actually took a moment to gather his thoughts, which was cause enough for Stan to wait. 

“Okay, look,” Richie started, more seriously than Stan had heard him speak in a while. “I know it sounds reckless. But I’ve given it a lot of thought, man. And if we all move in, it’d be super easy to afford. Yeah it needs work. But think about it. Ben is an architect and we all know he’s the best handyman probably in town. Bill’s dad can help us with the electrics. Bev can fix up the inside. All this with all of our help, obviously. There’s a yard Eds can have his garden in. I mean… it’ll take a little work but… it could be really… good, I think.” 

Richie folded his hands in his lap and cast his gaze to the floor, shockingly quiet. Stan sat in the silence for a minute, considering. 

When Richie had popped into his apartment yelling about buying a house, his first instincts were obviously not to agree. But the argument was there… Was Stan  _ excited  _ to fix up a house? Do manual labor for no monetary compensation? No. Did he realize this may be an actual opportunity? Well… 

“Getting such an early start in real estate with an investment like this… could  _ potentially  _ be… not a bad thing.” 

Richie  _ sprang  _ off the couch, and Stan immediately held up a hand to halt premature celebration. 

“You  _ need  _ to take me with you to  _ any and all  _ meetings and do NOT sign anything without me present.” 

“Swear to god!” Richie crossed his heart. “I swear! Stan! Stan the Man! We’re doing it!” 

“Don’t make me regret this, Richie. Have you even talked to anyone else?” 

Richie’s celebration abated a notch. “Well I had to talk to the money man first.” 

“Yeah. We’re not doing this unless  _ everyone  _ is on board.” 

“Oh, they will be. Look, I’ll go talk to them now. Stanny, I could kiss you!” 

Stan hoped the blush he felt didn’t show on his face as Richie skipped out the door. 

  
  


“Well… Ben and I were going to rent an apartment together.” 

Bev sat back onto the park bench in the middle of campus, tipping her head back to enjoy the sunshine. She was radiant in it, hair like fire and blue eyes intense as they reflected her blouse. Richie tried hard not to stare. 

“Yeah, I know. And I totally get it if you want to live on your own… but… You’d have your own space in the house. And you could interior design the whole thing if you want! Oh… and of course, there’s a walk-in closet in every room.” 

Bev sat forward at those words, interest glinting in her eyes. “You really could have led with that.” 

Richie laughed loudly. “Wanted to see if I could hook you another way.” He smiled and shook his head, taking Bev’s hand in his own. “Listen, I don’t want to pressure anyone. But I  _ do  _ really want this to happen.” 

With an eye contact that was verging on too intense, Bev nodded. “I get it. I think it’s kind of an amazing idea. As long as we don’t all want to kill each other two weeks in.”

“Kill each other? I don’t think  _ that’s  _ what we have to worry about.” Richie’s lascivious wink left no doubt as to what he was referring to. 

When Bev didn’t laugh, only turned a light pink and refused to look away from him, Richie’s heart beat a little faster. She began to speak, and panic seized his brain. 

“Do you mean-”

“Well you think about it ok Bev I’ll see you later bye!” 

And he ran. 

  
  


Bill gasped as his back hit the wall hard. Mike shoved a leg between his thighs and he met it with a subconscious thrust, moaning softly. His hands threaded themselves into Mike’s thick hair as he met his lips in a nearly violent fashion. 

Mike was going for his buckle when their door crashed open. 

“Guys! Oh fuck!” 

And it slammed shut. 

Mike pulled away from Bill, hanging his head as he laughed. Bill himself was a little less amused. 

“Sorry! You need a minute?” Richie’s voice echoed through the door. 

“A little more than a minute,” Bill ground out, and Mike laughed harder. He pressed a soft kiss to Bill’s lips before pulling away and going to open the door. 

“Well hello Richie, come in, why don’t you?” 

Richie’s face was pink, though he didn’t look embarrassed. “Sorry, guys! A little too excited, I guess.” 

“Us or you?” Mike teased, winking, and Richie flushed some more. 

“Um. I. You. Hmm.” Richie loudly cleared his throat. “So anyway I came to ask if you guys want to move in together?” 

The room was, for a moment, silent. 

Richie turned even redder. 

“Not like that! Not that I wouldn’t want to. Or that I  _ would _ . Oh fuck me. I mean, I found a house for rent-to-own and it’s the perfect size for all of us and we could all pitch in to pay and fix it up and I think it’d be really perfect?” 

Bill blinked, looked over at Mike who seemed just as taken aback, and walked to their mini fridge. He took out three beers, handed them out, popped the lids off of each, and sat calmly on his bed.

“You wanna start over?” 

Richie sagged in relief and took a long pull from the bottle in his hand. “Yeah. Okay, so I’ve already talked to Stan and Bev and by proxy Ben about this. They’re all in. I found a house a few miles away from here. It’s really affordable,  _ if  _ all seven of us move in. It also needs a little work. It’s not a fix-me-up, it really just needs a little carpentry and dusting, I swear. There’s two levels and a master on each, so you guys can have one and Ben and Bev can have one, and then us single losers will figure out the others. There’s even a basement. And a yard.” 

Mike looked over at Bill, lifting a thoughtful brow. “That… sounds pretty nice.” 

“You got pictures?” 

Richie’s face lit up. “Oh man, a fuckton! Check it out!” 

The three passed a couple hours on the bed, scrolling through pictures and hypothesizing furniture placement and repair costs. By the time the afternoon sun was glowing through the window, they were well into a case of beer and sprawled out over each other, passing Richie’s dying phone between them. Mike at one point accidentally elbowed Richie in the ribs, which provoked a seeming overreaction as Richie yelped and jumped away. Mike paused, looking him over carefully. 

“Richie... “ he said. “Are you ticklish?” 

“There is no right answer to that and you know it!” 

With nary a glance from Mike, Bill wrapped his arms around both of Richie’s and pulled him in tight. Mike shoved himself close to Richie and danced his fingertips over his ribs. Richie squirmed and laughed, kicking out involuntarily. Mike laid on his legs and dug in further. 

“Uncle!” Richie shouted. “Uncle!” 

Mike dragged a palm over his ribs once more before letting him go. 

Richie shot off the bed and tumbled onto the floor, gasping with laughter and exertion. He quieted down after a moment, and when he sat up, he was red-faced. 

“Well, guys. I’m glad you’re into the house,” he said, grabbing his bag and pulling it closer to him, over his lap. “I’ve got to talk to Eds still, and then… Well then we might have it,” he grinned. “So I’ll see you later!” 

He stood awkwardly, turning away from the two other men before slipping on his backpack and heading out the door. 

Mike and Bill sat in silence for a moment before turning to face each other. 

“Did he have…” 

“You saw that too, right?” 

Instead of laughter, there was a sudden and surprisingly heated silence. 

“Mike, would you…” Bill bit his lip and looked away, trailing off. 

Mike hooked a finger under his chin so he could make eye contact. 

“Yes,” he said firmly. 

And they fell into each other. 

  
  


Eddie was bent over an engine in the school’s garage when Richie went to find him, and he found himself rapidly distracted by the view. Before he could shake himself out of it, Eddie’s classmate was getting his attention with a highly amused look on his face. Eddie turned to look and gave Richie a smile so wide it made his heart skip a beat. 

Jesus, he really had to work on keeping it in his pants around his friends. 

“Richie! Hey, man, what are you doing here?” Eddie asked, trotting over while wiping his hands clean with a rag. 

“Oh, you know I love watching you work, Spaghetti!” He winked, and Eddie rolled his eyes. 

“I  _ am  _ working, actually, so if you don’t have a reason for being here…” 

Richie caught his wrist before he could turn away. 

“Buy you lunch?”

Eddie lifted an eyebrow at that, corner of his mouth turning up into a smirk. “I think I can take a break for that, yeah.” He lifted his hand to the other guy working and shouted, “taking a lunch break, okay, Kyle?” 

A hand was waved in their direction in response.

“That means yes,” Eddie clarified as he grabbed his sweater. “Where are we going?” 

“Wherever you want, Eds!” Richie glanced over and laughed. “Come on, don’t look so suspicious. Can’t I treat you once in a while?” 

“Not without an ulterior motive.” 

“Oh, I’ve got my motives,” Richie purred, to which Eddie rolled his eyes. “Okay, fine. I have a proposal for you.” 

“Sorry, Rich, I’m married to my work,” Eddie drawled. 

“Har har. Seriously, where do you want to go?” 

“Hammond’s.” 

“God I was hoping you’d say that.” 

Hammond’s was one of the more popular eating destinations off campus. It was a deli nearby, and served some of the best sandwiches any of the loser’s had ever eaten. Richie ushered Eddie into a booth as soon as they entered and ordered for the both of them, having memorized all of his friends’ orders after only a couple of visits.

He returned with their sandwiches and side orders of fries and coleslaw, as well as coffee.

Eddie looked up at him and raised his eyebrows at the spread, pulling a mug nearer to him so delicately one might think it was poisoned.

“I’m getting a little nervous.” 

Richie chuckled, dipping his sandwich into fry sauce before biting into it. Eddie gave him an unimpressed look. 

“Okay, okay. No more stalling. Truth is, Eds, you’re the last person who has to agree to this and I really,  _ really  _ need you to say yes. It doesn’t work without all of us.” 

“All the Losers?” 

“Who else?”

“Just clarifying,” Eddie shrugged. “So what is it that I need to agree to?” 

Richie pulled out his phone, unlocked it, and set it on the table between them with a flourish. Eddie grabbed it, looked at the screen, looked up at Richie, and looked back at the screen. He frowned. 

“I don’t get it.” 

Richie rolled his eyes and took the phone back, navigating out of his photos and to the real estate site. 

“I want to rent it. More specifically, rent-to- _ own  _ it.” 

Eddie laughed. 

Richie didn’t. 

“You’re serious.” 

Richie handed the phone back over, having found the listing. “Yeah, Eds. I really am. Look, it’s got more than enough room for all of us. It’s not too much-”

“Yeah, because it’s a mess. Rich, look at this. It’s like a movie haunted house, for fuck’s sake. And this is what they’ve  _ posted _ . Which means in person there are even more problems.”

“But it’s livable. And you know we’ve all been wanting a project!” 

“I have about twenty projects already, Rich-”

“Okay,  _ the rest of us _ -”

“It’s filthy-”

“-and space for Mike’s animals-”

“-unsafe-”

“-a real investment!” 

“It looks like Derry.”

Richie fell silent. Looked like he crumbled into himself. Crestfallen. 

Eddie felt as though someone had punched him, his breath turning painful. 

“Rich… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you. But it’s true… That’s all I can think of when I look at it.” 

Richie didn’t respond for another minute, and Eddie began to worry he’d messed up. He was only being honest, but sometimes Richie needed gentleness, especially when he was worked up about something. A new special interest. Eddie had unintentionally shot him down before. Damn it, he shouldn’t have been so callous -

Richie was holding his hand. 

Eddie blinked, coming out of a spiral he hadn’t even realized had started. Richie was staring fiercely into his eyes, and Eddie found suddenly he couldn’t breathe quite as well. 

“I get it,” Richie started. “To be honest, Eds… That thought crossed my mind, too. But then I realized… that it’s just another opportunity. If anything, it’s another reason to go for it.” Richie squeezed his hand before he could interject. “Because now we can make better memories. We can move past what happened without ever going back. We can face it, and force it to become something good.” 

“That’s pretty gay, Richie.” 

Eddie nearly fell out of his seat as the voice came from behind him. Stan stepped around their booth and shoved himself next to Richie. Eddie was about to scold him when he noticed the redness around Stan’s eyes. 

“And pretty true,” he finished softly. 

Eddie found himself pressing into Richie’s hand before pulling his own back. 

“Stan’s right, you’re right,” he said. “Damn it.” 

Richie immediately started to vibrate in his seat. “Does that mean…?” 

“Yeah,” Eddie sighed, but he was smiling. “I’m in.” 

  
  


It was a month later they moved in, at the end of the Spring Semester. Stan had a final that morning and was just now showing up, a couple hours after the others. 

They’d pooled their money to rent one Uhaul, and it was parked in the driveway, back open and ramp lowered. Eddie was spotting Bev and Ben as they carried a large dresser out of it, and was the first one to see Stan pull up. He waved, grinning, causing Ben and Bev to turn and see him and set the dresser down, and they all walked toward his car. 

His chest went warm as they did so, as an intense rush of gratitude for his friends swept through him. The simple act of stopping what they were doing and gifting him their full attention made his throat constrict.

He shook himself and stepped out of his car with a wave. 

“Hey, guys, how goes the move?” 

“Hi honey,” Bev greeted him, pecking his cheek. “Really well so far. After we got this inside we were going to break for lunch, actually. Richie’s getting it ready.”

“And Mike and Bill?” 

“They went to grab drinks.”

“You guys should’ve called me, I would have picked them up.”

Bev shrugged cheerily. “We weren’t sure when your final was over, and anyway, wanted to give you a rest before starting to work. I’m sure you’re fine, you big genius, but my brain is mush after finals.”

“Buying some beer isn’t work,” Stan insisted, but he was giving her a grateful hug anyway. He did the same to Ben and Eddie. 

A small part of him couldn’t help but notice the firmness of their bodies; the light smell of sweat from exertion; the heat of them. It surprised him. He’d had  _ thoughts _ before, but was sure he’d buried them deep. The idea of living together must’ve unearthed them. 

Well. He could handle it.

The three of them showed him around while Richie constructed wraps for their lunch. The two biggest rooms were for the two couples, of course, but Eddie hadn’t claimed one of the other two yet. Richie had offered to live in the finished-but-unheated basement. Eddie appreciated his sacrifice, but Stan was sure he had plans. 

“There’s one upstairs and one down here,” Eddie was saying as Stan tuned back in. “If you like one more than the other, let me know. I don’t really have a preference.” 

Stan tilted his head, brow furrowed. “You don’t want the ground floor?” 

Eddie hesitated, playing with the hem of his shirt. “Why would I?” 

Stan glanced over to Bev and Ben for support, but they just looked at him, confused. 

“With your ankle?” 

Bev gasped softly, and Ben took Eddie’s elbow, concerned. “Is that still bothering you?” 

Eddie was still looking at Stan, his gaze soft and a little sad. “I haven’t told anyone that. How did you know?” 

“You favor it,” Stan replied, as though it were obvious. “I didn’t… I thought… Well I didn’t think it was a secret, because why would it be? Haven’t you told anyone?” 

“I didn’t want to be a bother… it’s not that bad…” Eddie went red, lowering his gaze. “It’s really nothing.” His voice had gone a little flat. 

Stan nodded to Ben and Bev, and they quietly left the room. Stan approached Eddie and put a gentle hand on his wrist.

“Eddie,” he started. “I’m going to be very frank, okay? You know I don’t do bullshit. So here’s the deal. I know you don’t want to worry anyone. I know you want to be strong. And I know you don’t want anyone to think you’re reverting to your younger, hypochondriac self. But you’re going to have real health issues in your life. And it  _ doesn’t _ mean you’re weak, god damn it. Admitting it shows how strong you are. Okay? If you don’t want to tell everyone, can you at least tell me? Or Bill or Richie? Anyone. If you need someone to tell you if it’s rational, you  _ know  _ I will. And I won’t fucking baby you, either.

“Eddie, look at me.” He did. “We love you and we want you to be healthy. Got it?” 

After a long moment, Eddie said, “I got it.” 

It was quiet, and hoarse, but he meant it. 

“So how long has your ankle been hurting? And has anyone looked at it?” 

“Since the accident, and… not since the accident.” 

“Oh, Eddie.” Stan pulled him in close for an embrace. “I’m scheduling you an appointment for next week.” 

Eddie chuckled. “Fine.” He pulled back and studied Stan for a moment, less guarded than he ever was in daily life. “I love you too, y’know.” 

Stan caught his eye and had to catch his breath. “Yeah. I know.” 

It almost happened. 

It was going to happen, and then Bev came back.

She knocked on the door frame as she walked into the room, and Eddie jumped a little and put space between them. 

“Hey, boys,” she said softly. “Soup’s on.” 

Stan inwardly sighed and started to walk her way, squeezing Eddie’s shoulder on his way past. 

“Thanks, Bev.” 

  
  
  


Two months later, everything was moved in. A routine had formed between them all, the house was well on its way to perfection, and life should be awesome. 

And Stan was about to lose it.

He’d thought he could keep a cap on his feelings. He really had. He’d been doing it for eight years, living with all the objects of his affections couldn’t make it  _ that  _ much harder. 

He’d been wrong. 

It didn’t help that he was starting to think either the others felt the same way or he was going insane. He’d had close calls with  _ every single one of them _ . 

The tender moment with Eddie still kept him up at night. 

Richie had bowled him over when they were playing frisbee golf the other day and ended up pinning him to the ground with a playful threat. Stan had excused himself to go the bathroom and ended up under a cold shower. 

Bev had made him a cupcake after he helped her with her finances and insisted on feeding it to him. 

Ben fixed the desk in his room and caught Stan staring at his ass, and instead of getting uncomfortable, Stan  _ swore  _ he angled himself to show it off more as he worked. 

And then there was Mike and Bill, who were… Well. Flirty, to say the least. And not just with him. In fact, Stan was 80% sure they’d had a threesome with Richie at  _ least  _ once. 

So yeah, it was getting difficult to separate friendship from  _ other  _ things lately. 

It all came to a head on his birthday. 

He woke up late and stormed down to the kitchen, struggling to put on his suit and make toast at the same time, when Richie appeared, clearly trying not to laugh. 

“Hey, birthday boy! Something wrong?” 

“Yes, Richie, I’m late for work.” Stan answered through gritted teeth, the ‘ _ obviously _ ’ going unsaid. 

Richie sighed dramatically and draped himself over Stan’s back. “Stan. Stanny boy. Stan the man. Calm thyself, I beg of you.” 

Stan shook him off, getting huffy. “Seriously, Rich? I have to go.” 

“No ya don’t,” Richie argued cheerfully, pulling his phone off the counter and pushing it into Stan’s face. “Read it and weep. No, wait, not that, no weeping. Cheer? That doesn’t work. Read it and… sweep? Me into a kiss? Fuck I don’t know just read it and fucking relax.” 

Stan grabbed the phone, unable to read it as Richie talked with his hands. It was Richie’s messages app, and he was showing a conversation with Stan’s boss. Stan narrowed his eyes as he realized how familiar and casual the tone was. 

“How do you know Mrs. Maturin?” 

“Why do you sound like you’re accusing me of something?” Stan glared, and Richie swallowed heavily. “I’ll tell you later. Did you see what she said?” 

Stan read further. “You got me the day off?”

“Sure did, my love. Paid.” 

“That’s… that’s really nice, actually.” Stan deflated, in a good way, unbuttered toast dropping to the counter. “I don’t know why she seems to know you so well, but… thanks.” 

“And that’s just the beginning! We have  _ plans  _ for you today, Stanny boy!” 

“If you call me that again I will castrate you.” 

“Oh you tease.” 

As they were having this exchange, Richie was not so subtly pushing Stan towards their living room, and he went easily. 

“What, do you have a stripper cake in here?” 

“Much better.” 

They finally reached the end of the hallway and turned into their living room. 

Everyone was there. 

Stan blinked at them. 

“You all got today off?” 

“You fucking bet,” Bill answered from his spot by the wall. “Wouldn’t miss your birthday.”

“So,” Mike took over, smile like the sun. “What do you want to do?” 

“We have a reservation at The Hills tonight,” Bev chimed in. “It’s at 6:30. We have until then to do whatever you want.” 

Stan was finding it difficult to speak, his throat tight, as it often was lately. These people were amazing, and he was so, so lucky to have them. 

“Um,” he managed, and laughed, and cleared his throat. “Is my puzzle here?” 

Ben grinned hugely and disappeared into the next room for a moment. When he returned, it was with a stack of boxes, some larger than others, all sturdy and brightly colored. 

“Yeah. It came with a few extras.” 

“We cleared off the table,” Eddie said, pulling said object further into the center of the room. “We weren’t sure if it’d be big enough. If not we can bring the one from the kitchen in here.”

“That’s across the house.” 

“So?” 

Stan grinned. “Let’s see if we even need it.” And he sat down, on the ground, in front of the table. “Pick one,” he said to Ben. “I love them all.” 

“You haven’t even looked at them,” Richie pointed out, and Stan rolled his eyes. 

“You guys bought them for me. And you obviously know me pretty well,” he said, gesturing generally around him. “I will love them. I know I will.” 

“You heard the man,” Richie said to Ben, and sat down so close to Stan their thighs were nearly overlapping. Eddie immediately took his other side, sitting just as close. Stan felt his cheeks heat. He saw the rest of the Losers take their places on other sides of the table, Bev and Bill both sending him winks. He sort of felt like he was missing out on a joke, but he also sort of liked it… whatever  _ it  _ was. 

Any discomfort he felt was quickly dissipated as Ben carefully set out the puzzle pieces onto the table. 

Later on, Stan would fondly think that only their group could make solving a puzzle such a rowdy occasion. There were beer bottles and snacks all over the room as they got ready to leave for dinner. Bob Ross was playing on the TV, muted, and Richie’s aptly titled “Birthday Boi” playlist on Spotify was broadcasting a mix of classical music, Lizzo, and the Rolling Stones. 

Stan was already dressed, so he was the first one waiting in the living room when Bev walked in, arms awkwardly bent behind her. She caught his gaze and swept over to him. 

“Can you zip me up?” 

She turned around and her dress was unzipped past her hips. Stan’s breath went short as his hands found the zipper and her waist. She tugged the material down with one hand and squeezed it together above the zipper with the other. 

“Thanks, doll,” she said. 

He could see the hem of her lacy underwear and lamented covering it as he helped her close the dress. His gaze traveled over her smooth back, the clasp of her dark silk bra, the sharp curves of her shoulder blades. He found himself lingering over them even after the dress was zipped, his palm covering the point of one. Her skin was so soft. 

Bev turned, and his hand ended up on her shoulder. She didn’t step away as she turned so she ended up face to face with him, mere inches away. With her heels on, it turned out they were the same height. 

“Hey,” she whispered. 

“Hey.” The shaky response. “Am I going crazy?” 

“No,” she assured, resting a hand on his cheek. “You’re not.” 

“Are you sure?” 

She smiled, and placed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth, then leaned in to whisper directly in his ear, “I’m very sure.” 

He shivered, and then Ben walked in. 

Stan froze, heart seizing up. He prepared to apologize - God, what the hell - when Ben came over and took his hand. 

“Don’t worry, it’s okay.” Ben pulled his hand up to kiss the knuckles. “We were going to wait until after dinner to tell you, but I think they’ve teased you enough.” 

“Tell me what?” Stan took a step back, head spinning. “Is this some sort of prank?” 

Bev took his hand before he could move further away, gaze severe. “Stan. We would never do that to you. We didn’t mean to keep it from you, either. We all just.. Sort of realized it, all at once, and it just so happened to be close to your birthday… we thought it’d be fun. I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable.” 

“No, I’m not… Can you please speak clearly? I  _ really  _ don’t want to misinterpret this.” 

Suddenly there was a body behind him. Richie had come in from another room, and was wrapping his arms around Stan’s torso. 

“It’s been a really confusing month, man.” Stan felt Richie’s chin rest on his shoulder, hot breath brushing past his ear. “Turns out, we’re all really into each other.” 

Stan’s heart was beating so hard he was sure Richie could hear it. 

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” 

“Yeah, Stan. We have something special -  _ all _ of us. Makes sense, we’ve been through some  _ shit. _ But yeah. We’re all… something. I swear to god, we only  _ just  _ admitted it to each other, no one was keeping it from you.”

Stan blinked and Mike, Bill, and Eddie were in the room. Richie moved away to give him some space to breathe. 

“I feel like I’m dreaming,” he muttered, and everyone laughed. 

“That’s what I said,” Eddie admitted. “It seems too good to be true.” 

“But it’s not,” Mike chimed in. “After everything, the universe decided to give us something good. And I, for one, am going to hold onto it. And enjoy it. I love you guys.” 

There was a smattering of ‘awwww’s and, ‘love you too’s, and then a little uncertain but happy silence. 

Stan broke it by saying, “we’re going to miss our reservation.” 

“Fuck the reservation,” Richie immediately said, but he was already moving towards the door. “I drew the long straw so I get to drive you!” 

“Me too!” Eddie shouted, hurrying to get to the door as well. 

Stan stumbled after them, everything setting in, and he started to laugh. He couldn’t help it. It felt like someone had started a fire in his chest, only it didn’t hurt. Instead, the flames just gave him joy, but there was too much, and it had to go somewhere, so he laughed. He let it out into the universe. A gift, for giving this to him. 

Bill took his hand and smiled at him, seeming to understand. Perhaps he’d had a similar reaction. 

“Let’s go,” he said. “Sooner we get there, sooner we get back,” and he winked.

A lot of winking going on tonight. Stan wasn’t complaining. 

He followed Bill out the door. 

  
  


Dinner was… wonderful. Delicious. Astounding, Stan's sure, the Hills was  _ fancy _ . Like, there’s a dress code kind of fancy. 

Stan didn't remember it.

The night was a blur, and he only had two beers. 

He spent the whole of their outing in a haze of wonder, still processing what was happening; how he could possibly be so lucky. He watched his friends - lovers? Partners? - enjoy themselves, drinking and eating and laughing and being so beautiful it stole his breath. And yeah, he was drifting into poetic territory, that’s just what they did to him. 

At one point, Eddie turned to him and made sure he was okay. And Stan, well. He laughed, because he was more okay than he’d probably ever been. And Eddie smiled so brightly at him, he had to kiss him. And then kiss him some more. Until he suddenly felt overheated and Eddie had to pull away because people were starting to notice. The wolf whistles at their own table didn’t help matters. 

In any case, Stan sat back and enjoyed the blur. When he looked back, he knew he was happy, and that’s what mattered.

And he certainly remembered what happened after they got home. 

At the end of it all, even after the best sex of his life, by far, his favorite moment ended up happening just before they all passed out. Bev started it by taking his face into her hands, kissing him soundly on the lips, and saying, “Happy birthday, Stan.” 

Bill followed her lead, going through the same motions, and then Mike, Ben, Eddie, and finally Richie. Richie lingered on his lips, smiling into the kiss, gripping Stan’s shoulders like he was going to float away if he let go. 

“Happy birthday, Stan. I love you.” 

And they'd said it to each other hundreds or thousands of times, but that night it hit different, because yeah. He  _ loved  _ him. They  _ loved  _ each other, all of them. Fuck the norms, fuck expectations, fuck everything but that. His group, his partners, his family. He was theirs and they were his. 

And that was, by far, the best birthday gift Stan had ever gotten. 


End file.
